Every question we get asked, answered.

Under Local Government Code Section 387.003, a district may build, maintain or improve roads and highways; provide law enforcement and detention services; maintain or improve libraries, museums, parks and other recreational facilities; provide services that benefit public health or welfare, including firefighting and fire prevention; and promote economic development and tourism.

The commissioners court calls an election that defines the district's boundaries. The ballot asks voters to authorize the creation of the district, along with the sales and use tax rate and purpose. The district is created if a majority of voters inside the boundaries approve.

No. In Texas, CAD often means the county appraisal district, which sets property values. A County Assistance District is a different entity that collects a voter approved sales tax. URSA uses appraisal district data for targeting and runs campaigns for County Assistance District elections, so we are careful to say which one we mean.

Anyone who makes a taxable purchase inside the district, including people who live outside it. The combined local sales tax in any location cannot exceed the state's two percent local cap.

General obligation bonds generally require voter approval at a bond election. Some other forms of debt, such as certificates of obligation, can be issued without an election unless enough voters petition for one.

For a bond election, many Texas political subdivisions must publish a voter information document for each proposition with cost information such as the principal, estimated interest and the entity's existing debt. It is the starting point for both campaigns.

No. Texas Election Code Section 255.003 bars a political subdivision from spending public funds on political advertising. The city or county can publish factual information. Advocacy for or against is run by political committees with private funds.

County commissioners, together with the county judge, form the commissioners court. They adopt the county budget and tax rate and oversee roads and bridges, county facilities and many county services. Each commissioner is elected from one of four precincts.

County offices are partisan. Candidates run in the March primary of even numbered years, with a May runoff if no one wins a majority, and the winners meet in the November general election.

No. Texas eliminated straight ticket voting starting with the 2020 election. Voters must mark each race individually, which makes name recognition more important for down ballot candidates.

Down to a single subdivision or road. Commissioner, constable and JP precincts are built in Culper from the voter file and county parcel data, so every channel stays inside the lines.

The commissioners court calls an election that defines the boundaries, and the ballot asks voters to authorize the district along with its sales and use tax rate and purpose. A majority of voters inside the boundaries must approve.

A County Assistance District is funded by a local sales and use tax collected inside the district, not a property tax.

Changes to a district's sales tax are made through the procedures and elections state law provides. Opponents should review the current statute with counsel.

Mark against on each bond proposition you oppose. Each proposition is decided separately.

A form of debt Texas cities and counties can issue without a bond election, after public notice, unless enough voters petition for an election. Opponents sometimes organize that petition.

In the voter information document the city or county publishes for each proposition, which includes figures such as the principal, estimated interest and existing debt.

Find the bond propositions on your ballot, usually near the end, and mark against on each one you oppose. Each proposition is decided separately, so voters can oppose some and support others.

Texas requires certain projects, such as stadiums, natatoriums and other recreational facilities, performing arts facilities, teacher housing and technology equipment, to be separate propositions, so voters can decide on each.

The district cannot issue those bonds. It can revise the plan and call another election on a later election date.

Yes. A specific-purpose political committee can oppose bond propositions with private funds, as long as it files its reports and carries the required political advertising disclosure.

Yes. Residents and privately funded political committees can oppose an ESD tax or sales tax proposal. Committees must file their reports and include the required political advertising disclosure.

The Texas Constitution limits an ESD's property tax to 10 cents per $100 of taxable value.

Combined local sales tax in any location cannot exceed two percent. Room taken by an ESD sales tax is not available to other local entities in that area unless the tax is later changed or abolished by election.

An Emergency Services District (ESD) is a political subdivision created under Chapter 775 of the Texas Health and Safety Code to provide fire protection, emergency medical services or both, usually in unincorporated areas. It is governed by a board of commissioners and funded by property tax and, with voter approval, a local sales and use tax.

Under Health and Safety Code Section 775.0751, an ESD may adopt a sales and use tax from one eighth of one percent up to two percent, in one eighth increments, only by election and only where the combined local sales tax rate would not exceed the two percent local cap. A district may exclude territory already at the cap.

The Texas Constitution limits an ESD's property tax to 10 cents per $100 of taxable value.

No. Texas Election Code Section 255.003 prohibits a political subdivision from spending public funds on political advertising. An ESD can fund factual communications that explain the purpose of a measure without advocating for or against it. Advocacy must be paid for by a separate political committee with private funds.

Registered voters who live inside the district's boundaries. Because ESD elections are often held in May or alongside other local races, turnout is usually low, which makes identifying and reaching likely voters the most important part of the campaign.

Yes. Because streaming ads are placed by household, a campaign can match addresses inside the district lines to streaming households and avoid paying for viewers in the rest of the media market.

Federal law and FEC rules require public political communications to say who paid for them, and candidate television ads need a statement from the candidate approving the message. The exact requirements vary by medium, so we work with each campaign's compliance counsel.

Our data and tools work anywhere a voter file is available. Contact us about your district.

Yes. Texas elects most judges, including district judges, county court at law judges, justices of the peace and appellate judges, in partisan elections.

Texas judicial candidates are bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct, which bars pledges or promises about how they would rule on cases or issues likely to come before the court. Campaigns focus on qualifications, experience, temperament and character. Candidates should review their messaging with counsel.

A slate campaign promotes several judicial candidates together, usually from the same party or court system. Sharing production, voter data and media lets each candidate reach more voters for the same budget.

Judicial races appear deep in the ballot, get little coverage and, since Texas ended straight ticket voting in 2020, must be marked one by one. Voters who do not recognize a name often leave the race blank.

Local races often fall in off year or May elections, sit far down the ballot in November, and get little news coverage, so many voters do not know they are happening or who is running. That makes the small group of reliable local voters, and the supporters who can be persuaded to join them, decisive.

It depends on the size of the district, the competition and the timeline. Because URSA targets only the voters inside the district who are likely to decide the race, local campaigns can do far more with a modest budget than with broad media buys.

Yes. First time candidates usually need the most help with name recognition and turnout, which is where targeted streaming TV, outdoor and P2P persuasion work best.

Yes. Many city council, school board and special district races are nonpartisan. The same tools apply, and messaging focuses on local issues rather than party.

Under Local Government Code Section 387.003: roads and highways, law enforcement and detention, libraries, museums, parks and recreation, services that benefit public health or welfare including fire protection, and economic development and tourism.

Registered voters who live inside the proposed district's boundaries, which are set in the commissioners court's order.

Few voters know what a County Assistance District is, and the word tax is on the ballot. Without a clear explanation of what it funds and who pays, many voters vote no or skip it.

Specific projects voters can picture in their own neighborhood, an honest cost from the voter information document, confidence that the money will be spent as promised, and a turnout program for supporters.

Bond propositions are stated by purpose, and each proposition is approved or rejected on its own.

The city cannot spend public funds on advocacy under Texas Election Code Section 255.003. Staff may participate as private citizens on their own time. Campaigns are run by political committees.

A specific project list tied to each campus, an honest cost per home, a clear answer for seniors with a tax ceiling, trusted local messengers and a turnout program for supporters. In low turnout elections, organization matters as much as persuasion.

A privately funded political committee, parents, staff on their own time and other residents. The district itself can only provide factual information and cannot spend public funds on advocacy under Texas Election Code Section 255.003.

Texas homeowners 65 and older generally have the school taxes on their homestead frozen at a ceiling, so a bond typically does not raise the tax on that home. Campaigns should confirm the details with the district's published figures.

May elections have small electorates, which rewards the side that organizes its supporters. November brings far more voters and a long ballot, so supporters must be told to look for the propositions at the bottom.

Showing residents what it changes for response times where they live, explaining that shoppers from outside the district help pay a sales tax, using firefighters and paramedics as messengers, and turning out supporters in what is usually a low turnout election.

Employees may participate as private citizens on their own time without using public resources. The ESD itself cannot spend public funds on advocacy. Committees and employees should get legal guidance on the specifics.

A simple majority of those voting inside the district. Because turnout is often low, the total can be small, which is why supporter turnout matters so much.

No. Texas school board trustee elections are nonpartisan. Candidates appear on the ballot without a party label.

Most Texas school districts hold trustee elections on the May or November uniform election date, depending on the district.

It depends on the district and the election date. In a May election turnout can be very low, so a seat may be decided by a few thousand votes or fewer. URSA calculates a win number from the district's own vote history.

Texas law requires bond propositions to state their purpose and amount and that taxes will be imposed to repay the debt, and current ballots for school bonds and tax rate elections carry the words "THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE." Campaigns on both sides have to plan around it.

Since 2019, Texas requires school districts to put certain kinds of projects in separate propositions, including stadiums, natatoriums and other recreational facilities, performing arts facilities, teacher housing and technology equipment, so voters can decide on each one.

A voter approval tax rate election (VATRE) is required when a Texas school district adopts a maintenance and operations tax rate above the rate state law allows without voter approval. Voters decide whether to ratify the higher rate.

Homeowners 65 and older in Texas generally have their school taxes on their homestead frozen at a ceiling, so a rate change may not raise their bill on that home. That is why messages built on personal cost often do not move seniors, while messages about debt and accountability can.

No. Texas Election Code Section 255.003 prohibits a school district from spending public funds on political advertising. A district may share factual information about the bond. Campaigns for or against are run by political committees with private funds.

Both. URSA works for political committees that support or oppose school bond and tax rate propositions, and can provide factual voter information to districts. We take one side per election.

A taxing unit that adopts a property tax rate above its voter approval rate must hold an election for voters to ratify it. For most cities and counties, the voter approval rate allows about 3.5 percent more maintenance and operations revenue than the prior year. School districts and special taxing units use different formulas.

The no-new-revenue rate is the rate that would raise the same amount of property tax revenue from the same properties as the year before. It is published alongside the voter approval rate so taxpayers can compare.

If voters reject the proposed rate, the taxing unit's rate for that year is reduced to the voter approval rate.

No. A bond election asks permission to borrow for specific projects, repaid by a debt service tax. A VATRE asks voters to ratify an operating tax rate. A district can hold both on the same ballot. See school district bond elections.

No. Texas Election Code Section 255.003 bars a political subdivision from spending public funds on political advertising. A district may provide factual information. Advocacy is run by a privately funded political committee.

Most streaming TV placements are 15 or 30 seconds. We write to that length from the start and put the candidate's name or the proposition and the core message in the opening seconds.

Political advertising generally must say who paid for it, under state law for state and local races and federal rules for federal races. Candidate TV ads in federal races also need the candidate's approval statement. We build disclosures into every edit.

A public entity can pay for factual information about a measure, such as what it funds and when to vote, but not for advocacy, under Texas Election Code Section 255.003. Advocacy video is paid for by a political committee.

Location based targeting is widely used in political advertising, subject to each ad platform's policies and applicable law. Campaigns should target places and times, not sensitive locations, and follow platform rules.

Meta allows authorized political advertisers to use custom audiences built from their own lists, subject to its political ad policies and verification. Other platforms, such as Google, limit political ad targeting to broader options like geography, age and gender.

Each morning during early voting, Culper matches the county's roster of voters who have voted to the campaign's audiences and removes them, so spending moves to people who have not voted.

A chase list is the set of identified supporters who have not voted yet. During early voting it shrinks every day as the county reports who voted, so the campaign spends its time and money only on supporters who still need to vote.

In Texas the chase usually begins when early voting opens, about two weeks before Election Day, and runs through the close of polls. Persuasion and supporter identification should happen before that.

No. GOTV focuses on supporters. Talking to opponents during GOTV can turn them out too. Culper keeps the chase list to identified and modeled supporters.

An early vote scrub is matching the county's daily list of voters who have already voted against the campaign's lists and removing them, so no more money or volunteer time is spent on them.

A message matrix is a table that assigns each audience in a campaign the argument that fits their situation, and the channel that reaches them. It keeps messaging consistent across TV, digital, mail and texting while making sure no group hears an argument that does not apply to them.

The win number is the number of votes a campaign needs to win, based on expected turnout for that election. It tells a campaign how many supporters it must identify and turn out, and shapes the entire budget and plan.

As early as the budget allows, with persuasion first. In Texas, early voting usually opens about two weeks before Election Day, and many voters cast their ballot in the first days, so persuasion has to be done before early voting starts, not during it.

Yes. Many of our campaigns come through consultants. We work as an extension of their team on targeting, production, media placement and Culper, under their strategy. See About.

With county appraisal parcel data and the voter file, a campaign can target a single subdivision, one section of a subdivision or the homes along one road. Some channels, like streaming TV and digital, need a minimum audience size to deliver, so we combine neighborhoods with the same issue or use mail, outdoor and P2P texting for the smallest groups.

We combine the voter file with vote history, county appraisal district (CAD) parcel data, early voting rosters during the election, licensed third party data from providers such as L2 and i360, and issue information gathered from block walks, P2P conversations and public records. It all comes together in Culper.

No. It matters most in small races. A city council, ESD or school board election may be decided by a few hundred votes, so reaching the right few thousand households with the right reason to vote is the whole game, and it keeps a small budget from being wasted on people who will never vote in that race.

No. We target on public voter and property records, licensed political data, and the issues people tell us about. We do not use health information, and we never reveal an individual's vote history in any message.

Peer-to-peer texting, where a person sends each message individually, is widely used by campaigns. It still has rules: identify who is texting, include opt out language, honor every STOP and respect texting hours. Culper enforces these automatically. Campaigns should still review their program with counsel.

It depends on the volunteer and how many replies come back, because every reply deserves an answer. Culper splits contacts evenly and rebalances as more texters join, so the workload stays manageable.

From the campaign's voter universe in Culper: voter file records with phone numbers, licensed data such as L2 or i360, and numbers supporters provide. Only usable mobile numbers go into a P2P campaign.

They are added to a suppression list immediately and permanently. No campaign on Culper can text that number again.

A one to one ask is a request from one identifiable person to one voter for one specific thing, like standing up a sign at a polling place at a set time. It works better than a general "go vote" message because the voter is clearly the one being counted on, the task is concrete, and saying yes is a commitment to a real person.

Most turnout messages come from an organization, go to everyone, and ask for something abstract. That spreads responsibility across thousands of people so each voter feels their part is optional, a pattern psychologists call diffusion of responsibility. Specific, personal requests with a time and place avoid it.

Yes. Peer-to-peer texting, where a person sends each message individually, is widely used by campaigns. It still has rules: identify who is texting, include opt out language, honor every STOP request and respect texting hours. Culper enforces these automatically. Campaigns should still review their own program with counsel.

Mass or broadcast texting sends one message to a whole list at once. Peer-to-peer texting has a volunteer send each message individually and carry on a two way conversation with the reply. P2P feels personal because it is personal, which is why our persuasion scripts run on it.

It puts them at their polling place, at a set time, on Election Day, for someone who is counting on them. That combines several of the strongest turnout effects in the research: a specific plan, a public commitment, a personal request and being seen. URSA tracks commitments and turnout in Culper so each campaign can see the results in its own race.

We write them with the campaign. URSA drafts the opener, the asks and replies to common answers, then tunes them to the candidate's or committee's voice and the community. Volunteers are coached to make each message sound like themselves.

Yes. A hand addressed envelope with a real stamp looks like personal mail, so it gets opened. URSA's hand addressed, stamped letters see a 95% read rate in our campaigns, far above what a glossy bulk mail card can expect.

Variable data printing changes the content of each piece as it prints, using fields from the campaign's data: the voter's name, a photo of their neighborhood's issue, their estimated tax change or their polling place. It lets micro-targeting carry into mail instead of sending one piece to everyone.

A voter guide tells a voter where the race or proposition is on the ballot, when early voting runs, where to vote and what the ballot language says. Voters often keep it until they vote.

Yes. Political advertising mail generally must say who paid for it, under state law for state and local races and federal rules for federal races. Every SmartMail piece carries the required disclosure.

It costs more per piece than bulk mail, which is why we use it for the voters and owners whose decision matters most and use variable printed pieces and guides for the wider universe.

They work best when they are specific. A generic name and face board on a busy highway mostly reaches people outside the district. A board placed at a local problem, with a message about fixing it, reaches the residents who live with it every day and gives them a concrete reason to vote.

Texas Election Code 61.003 prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of an outside door through which a voter may enter a building with a polling place, during the voting period. Polling locations usually mark that distance. Local rules for the property may also apply.

Yes, by placement. Outdoor cannot choose who sees it, but it can choose where it stands. Placing a board at a subdivision entrance, a school pickup line or a specific intersection means most of the people who pass it are the residents of that neighborhood.

Every sign and board is logged on Culper's outdoor map with its location, size, who installed it and who will collect it after the election, along with the pickup due date.

Connected TV (CTV) refers to ads watched on a television through an internet connection, such as a smart TV or a streaming stick. OTT, or over the top, is the broader term for streaming content delivered over the internet on any device. In political advertising the terms are often used together for streaming video ads.

Streaming ads target households rather than individuals. A campaign's voter list is converted to household addresses and matched to the households streaming platforms can reach. Not every household matches, but those that do can be reached precisely, inside the district, by vote history and other data.

Often yes, because a local campaign pays only to reach households in its universe rather than an entire media market. A focused streaming flight to likely voters in a single district can cost far less than broadcast while wasting far fewer impressions.

Yes. Political advertising generally must say who paid for it, under state law for state and local races and federal rules for federal races. Many streaming platforms also have their own political ad policies. URSA builds the disclosure into every spot.

During early voting the county publishes who has voted each day. We match that roster to the campaign's universe in Culper every morning and remove those voters from the streaming audience, so the budget shifts to people who still need to vote.

Whether someone voted in an election is part of the public voter record that campaigns can obtain. How they voted is secret and is never available. Use of voter registration information is limited to election related purposes.

In Texas, CAD often refers to the county appraisal district, which keeps property records for every parcel. For a tax or bond campaign, it shows who owns property, who has a homestead or age based exemption, and which parcels are commercial or multifamily.

L2 and i360 are national providers of voter and consumer data used by campaigns. They add modeled scores, household details and contact information to the public voter file. Culper imports their files and resolves them with county records.

A universe is the defined set of voters a campaign will contact, such as likely voters inside the district who are supporters or persuadable. Every channel works from the same universe so the messages and the reporting line up.

Before filing if possible, and no later than the start of the campaign. Building the universe, producing video and recruiting volunteers takes time, and persuasion needs to be done before early voting starts.

Yes. First time candidates usually need the most help with name recognition and turnout, which is where streaming TV, outdoor and P2P persuasion work best.

Yes. We work on partisan county, judicial, state and federal races and nonpartisan city council, mayor and school board races.

A specific-purpose political committee is formed to support or oppose particular candidates or measures, such as one bond or tax election, rather than to support a party or many causes. It files its own campaign finance reports.

The district cannot use public funds or resources for advocacy. District officials should get legal advice before any involvement with a committee, and the committee should pay for everything it uses. URSA keeps the two kinds of work separate.

Political advertising generally must include a disclosure saying it is political advertising and who paid for it. The exact requirements depend on the medium, so we confirm them for every piece.

When we partner with a consultant, the consultant owns the client relationship and the strategy. We work through the consultant unless they ask otherwise.

Yes. Culper supports consultants running several races. Learn more at theculpernetwork.com or on our Culper page.

Household targeted streaming TV, video production, voter universe and data work, P2P texting programs and strategic outdoor.

Voter education factually explains a measure: what it is, what it funds, what it costs and when to vote. Political advertising supports or opposes the measure. Public entities in Texas may pay for the first but not the second.

Yes, if the mailer is factual and informational and does not advocate passage or defeat. Under Texas Election Code Section 255.003, a district may describe the purpose of a measure without telling voters how to vote.

Yes. A governing body that has ordered an election on a measure can ask the Texas Ethics Commission for an advance advisory opinion on whether a specific communication complies with Section 255.003.

Culper is built for local and down ballot campaigns: city council, school board, mayor, county offices, judicial races and state legislative races, along with county parties, precinct chairs and consultants running several races.

Culper covers much of the same ground as larger campaign platforms, including a voter database, texting, walking and volunteer tools, but it is built and priced for local races and for candidates the major vendors do not serve.

Yes. Culper imports CSV files from L2, i360, Aristotle or any provider and resolves them with county rolls and appraisal data into one record per voter.

No. Campaigns can sign up for Culper directly at theculpernetwork.com. URSA uses Culper on every campaign we run, and we can run it for you.

Emergency Services District (ESD) and County Assistance District (CAD) tax elections, school district bond and tax rate elections, and candidate races from city council, school board, county and judicial offices up to Congress.

Culper is the campaign software URSA built and runs every campaign on. It combines the voter file, county property data, peer-to-peer texting, block walking, sign tracking and a contact history for every voter in one system. Learn more at theculpernetwork.com.

Yes. We partner with consultants as an extension of their team, providing targeting, production, media placement and Culper under their strategy. See Political Consultants.

Yes, for factual voter education. Texas law bars public entities from spending public funds on political advertising, so district funded work explains the ballot without advocating. Persuasion campaigns are run separately for privately funded political committees. See Public Entities.

Most of our campaigns are in Texas, and our data and tools work anywhere a voter file is available. Tell us where you are running on the contact page.

As early as possible. Targeting, production and P2P recruiting take time, and in Texas early voting usually opens about two weeks before Election Day, when many voters cast their ballots. Persuasion should be finished before early voting starts.